Compound Butter (Garlic-Herb Butter)
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour & 15 minutes | Serves: 8 | Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
This fantastic recipe was the subject of my 2nd subscription email. I thoroughly enjoyed this butter. I used to think a perfect steak only needed salt and pepper, but after making this condiment, I now eat those words.
Compound butter, known more commonly as garlic-herb butter, is quite easy to make with some simple steps. Made with real butter (not margarine) and flecked with fresh herbs, this condiment can take garlic bread or a nicely seared steak up to a whole new level. Smeared on artisan bread, then toasted slightly in the oven, creates the most amazing aroma. (I wonder if they make candles that smell like that….?)
See the “Notes” below the recipe for some additional tips.
Needless to say, this butter didn’t last long in my refrigerator! Fortunately, this recipe can be easily doubled!
If you make more than you think you’ll use in a month, Land O’ Lakes says, “Properly stored butter can be frozen for up to four months if frozen prior to the USE BY date on the package. Butter may begin to lose its fresh butter taste and pick up flavors and odors from the freezer if stored for longer than four months.”
For the fresh Compound Butter you have made, store it well-wrapped from air, kept in the refrigerator, for up to 2 weeks. Please, let me add that as many websites I looked into for this information, there were that many different answers. Some said the butter is good up to five days, others said a month. If it is a concern for you, freeze and cut off what you need, as you need. Also, look into some sites for yourself and you might stumble upon something other than what I found.
Compound Butter (Garlic-Herb Butter)
Ingredients
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 4-6 garlic cloves, smashed and finely minced, or grated on a microplane
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley leaves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
- kosher salt, to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Alternatively, you can use a hand-held mixer or a small, tight whisk if your butter is soft enough.
- Blend all the ingredients thoroughly, scraping the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed.
- Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, or herbs as desired.
- Lay out a piece of plastic wrap about 12”x12” on your counter.
- Scrape the butter out of the mixing bowl and onto the plastic wrap in a log shape. That makes it easier to shape.
- Pull one side of the plastic wrap over the butter and gently begin to shape into a log. This keeps your hands from becoming covered in butter and makes the shaping easier.
- Once your butter is in the form of a log, very similar to the size of the stick of butter it began as, wrap the plastic wrap all around the butter and refrigerate for an hour or longer if not using right away.
- Note: While the butter is in a soft stage, this would be a good time to use for garlic bread since it’s easy to spread.
Notes
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